Author Alasdair White
Recent news shows that the US automobile industry is asking the US federal government for a $25 billion bailout and President-Elect Barak Obama supports this. What a pity that Mr Obama should nail his colours to the mast so early and on such an issue. Bailing out the big three carmakers is a fundamentally flawed idea that rewards the failure of management to develop a sustainable strategy.
If Mr Obama is serious about his green credentials and about restructuring and saving the US economy and contributing to a more sustainable world economy, then his support for the US automobile industry should come with some very serious strings attached. Firstly, the companies should be forced to enter into a major restructuring of their business activities to cut pollution and waste and to become efficient. Secondly, management should be forced to engage in a strategy of developing and selling cars with greater energy efficiency and, indeed, developing cars with near-zero emissions and which use non-fossil fuels to power the car. If Mr Obama were to make his support for the auto industry bailout on the above conditions, then he could kill two birds with one stone: rejuvenate the crassly inefficient and energy-wasteful American automobile industry and so save a large part of the US economy AND start the reduction of America’s pollution of the environment.
Will he do it? Well, time will tell but don’t hold your breath. A change he might be, but Mr Obama’s instincts are protectionist and there is nothing particularly new or robust about his policies. The best that can be said – at this stage – is that all he stands for is so much better than the policies proposed by the failed presidency of Mr Bush.
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